10 Tips To Reduce CONDENSATION In Your Tent

condensation happens when the cold tent fabric meets with the warm air inside of the tent it happens because of two reasons the air humidity inside of the tent as well as the temperature difference between the warm air inside of the tent and the cold air outside of it in simple words less humidity and less temperature difference means less condensation luckily there are quite a few things that we can do to reduce both of these things the number one most important tip in reducing condensation is selecting the right type of tent and there are two main types of tents a double wall tent and a single wall tent as the name suggests double wall tents are made from two walls a breathable inner tent that's made from a mesh and a waterproof rainfly cover that comes on top but on single wall tens there's only a single wall the waterproof rainfly is attached directly to the bathtub of the tent with double wall tents you usually won't have a a lot of condensation buildup because there's a large gap that goes along the whole perimeter of the tent and even if you do get some condensation it usually builds up on the rainfly not the inner mesh so that means that you won't be touching the condensation directly and your gear won't be getting wet single wall tens on the other hand usually get a lot of condensation and you're usually touching it directly with your gear so you always have to follow some extra steps if you want to make it more manageable honestly if you want to avoid dealing with condensation alog together the solution is simple just get a double wall tent but keep in mind that it will be heavier than a single wall alternative another thing to watch out for is the size and the shape of the tent that you're choosing if it's too short for you or if the walls don't have a steep enough angle you'll probably touch them with the end of your sleeping bag or with your head and both of them will get wet it should also ideally come with at least two vestibules and several ventilation panels and holes to increase the air flow in your tent and reduce the humidity if you already have a tent and now you're pretty much stuck with it then the next most important thing that you can do for avoiding condensation is selecting the right campsite setting up your tent underneath some trees is almost always better than setting it up in an open field or on an open Ridge that's because underneath some trees you'll usually find that there's a slightly different microclimates which is a bit warmer so there's less of a temperature difference and there's also less humidity and less Morning Dew as an example setting up your tent over here in the middle of a field probably isn't a good idea setting it up over here is a bit better because there's some protection from that big tree and also from those trees over there but ideally you should set up your tent in a place like this where there's a lot of cover from trees on all sides but when you set up your tent in a place like this always check the trees above and see if there are any dead branches or dead trees right above your tent because you don't want any of them falling on top of you while you're sleeping another important thing to watch out for is elevation down at the bottom of the valleys it's usually more humid and cooler you can even see some water pulling down there at the bottom but on the top on The Ridges it's usually too windy too exposed and too cold ideally you want to set up your tent somewhere in the middle not at the bottom and not at the top for example in this situation I would say that a good place to set up your tent would be somewhere here in the smaller Valley because it's not really a valley the cold air goes down to that Valley over there there's some wind protection from the nearby Hills and there's also a lot of tree cover so that looks perfect to me and the last thing to watch out for is the proximity to water avoid setting up your tent next to lakes rivers marshes and even smaller Mountain Streams that's because the air will usually be colder there and much more humid which will result in more condensation as opposed to air areas that are further away if it isn't going to be raining always leave at least one or even both of the vestibules open because this adds a lot of air flow to the inside of the tent which pretty much eliminates condensation altogether if however it is going to be raining or there's going to be a lot of fog in the night unfortunately you'll have to keep both of the vestibules closed and you'll probably have some condensation in the morning regardless of what you do that said you can seriously reduce the amount of condensation that you'll have in the morning by following the rest of the tips that I'll mention in this video one thing that you definitely shouldn't keep in your tent are through hiking posters made by me and my wife we've made posters for over 100 different through hiking trails across the world both in a minimalistic style and a topographic one if you've completed a through hike or you want to finish one then our posters will offer a unique way on keeping your eyes on the gold you can purchase them over at Trail goals.com and get 10% off with the discount code Oscar hikes but now let's get back to the video make sure to not block the Gap underneath the tent vestibule with your backpack or any other gear because it will slightly degrade the air flow coming through the Gap some T also need to be pitched correctly otherwise some of the ventilation panels might not be open fully so they won't be working to their full potential and if your 10 only has a single vestibule preferably try to face in that direction when you're sleeping so that most of theot moisture coming from your breath can escape underneath the Gap although I admit that I'm guilty of doing this myself quite frequently do not cook food inside of the tent this increases the temperature inside of the tent which increases the temperature difference and also adds a lot of humidity if you're boiling water which you usually are this also isn't good to do because your tent is made from Fabrics so they soak up all of the good Aromas from your food and then your tent becomes a magnet for wild animals during the night even if you hang your food outside of the tent after you're finished if you're hiking in rain and you have wet socks shoes or any other clothing do not hang them inside the tent overnight first of all they probably won't dry overnight anyway and secondly they will add a lot of moisture inside the tent which means more condensation what you should do instead is to isolate it all in a trash bag or a dry sck overnight and to dry them completely the next day in direct sunlight essentially Your Body Works as an air humidifier because you lose a lot of water when breathing and sweating so the less time that you spend inside of the tent the less condensation you'll have in the morning if possible always cook and eat your dinner outside of the tent and chill outside as much as you can if the weather allows that if you're a trer with a single wall tent and you're still breathing through your mouth what are you even doing bro are you good one study found out that you lose roughly 40% more water when breathing through your mouth compared to your nose which probably results in a lot of condensation so if you're usually dealing with a lot of condensation in your tent it might be worth it to learn how to breathe through your nose instead of your mouth when you're sleeping one thing that you definitely shouldn't do is put your feet in a water resistant backpack or dry sack in hopes that it will keep them dry from not touching the wall in reality this will make them even wetter because you sweat through your skin which will make the bottom end of your sleeping bag wet and you'll probably end up with cold feet realistically you can only do that with a breathable backpack but then again it doesn't make a lot of sense to use that against condensation because the backpack will just get wet and then the sleeping bag will get wet and you'll get the same result there also quite a few other things that you could do that might not help you reduce condensation but it will definitely help you with managing it for example you should always set up all four guidelines for your tent because it will reduce the slack on the head and foot end the tent which means that you won't be touching them as much you could even go one step further and put a stick underneath each guideline which would make them pull further away and increase the angle of the walls even more if you have a dawn sleeping bag one other thing that you should do is to waterproof it which I showed how to do in another video this will ensure that if the insulation gets wet it won't collapse and it will still keep you warm especially the foot hand because it touches the wall quite a lot if you're through hiking you should also make it a habit to open both vestibules take out all of your gear and leave it to dry in the Sun for about 20 minutes every morning while you're making your coffee because this is usually enough to get rid of most of the moisture in the tent it also helps if you have a small microfiber towel because it helps you with removing all of the excess condensation that didn't come out from airing It Out by doing this you're essentially ensuring that in the evening when you need to set up your tent again again it's completely dry and you're essentially starting from a clean slate if you know of any other tips that I forgot to mention in this video please write them down in the video comments because it will help other people thank you for watching and I'll see you in one of my next videos bye

Channel: Oscar Hikes

Views: 111,184

Keywords: condensation, tent condensation, how to stop tent condensation, wet tent, tent becomes wet in morning, how to reduce tent condensation, tent moisture, tent condensation tips, tent condensation hacks, tent tips, tent hacks, tent advice, sleeping in tent advice, tent sleep tips

Id: E_AMYsx1oUY

Length: 9min 16sec (556 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 25 2024